The 17th season of Fall banding/migration monitoring kicked off at 6:00 this morning. I made the short drive to Ruthven with great expectations as there had been a thunder storm in the middle of the night (shortly after midnight) and I was hoping for a “fall out”. Further, the skies were overcast hiding the nets more effectively. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Although we had nice variety (23 species handled), the number of birds banded was unremarkable (30). The 2 Mourning Warblers were a nice treat though.

During the course of the morning, the skies cleared and the blazing sun really heated things up stopping bird movement (around the nets anyway).

We did entertain our first school group of the season though – the grade 6 from a small Montessori school in Dundas. Natalie is busy booking them as we speak…..

Banded 30:
2 Downy Woodpeckers
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
2 Least Flycatchers
1 Black-capped Chickadees
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Gray Catbird
1 Cedar Waxwing
1 Warbling Vireo
5 Red-eyed Vireos
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Black & white Warbler
2 Mourning Warblers
2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
2 Baltimore Orioles
4 American Goldfinches

Retrapped 11:
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Gray Catbirds
1 Blue-winged Warbler
1 American Redstart
1 Canada Warbler
2 Northern Cardinals
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak

ET’s: 48 spp.

Rick